Ffolkes,

 

Hajime…. If one were to take seriously our opening statement of attitude from J.R., it would go a long way toward providing them with a seriously improved lot in life, as they would no longer have to worry about offending anyone. Once you can bring yourself to realize the wisdom of such an all-inclusive, non-discriminatory epithet, why, nothing else matters. Life becomes a breeze….

Of course, that’s because you won’t have any friends, and all your loved ones will probably try their best to see you dead, but, hey, who cares, right? Right. As long as you can maintain such a demeanor, other folks will pretty much leave you to your own devices, which, believe me, can be a blessing… It’s also a curse, naturally, but, one must make sacrifices in life to achieve one’s ends….

Okay, I’m done with the snarky silliness…. You may disregard the previous two paragraphs entirely from this point onward, as they really have nothing to do with anything but filling up space. My brain is currently non-functional, in spite of having consumed my first cuppacoffee in record time, and, having zipped halfway through my second. But, since the degree of non-functionality is so severe, it also blocks any feelings of guilt; there is simply nowhere for them to hang out near an exit….

There. Done. Honest, I won’t do this again; too many points where it could have caught fire & burned the whole deal to the ground. I’m thinking, sort of, it might be best to just head out, and deal with things as they happen…. Sure I will. Meantime, let’s use this little gizmo right here, and get the hell out of here, before I can say anything close to coherent…. Wouldn’t want that, would we? Of course not….

Shall we Pearl?….

 

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For anyone my age, this band needs no introduction. It they are new to your ken, why, then, sit back, and prepare to have your mind blown a bit, if not a lot…. Enjoy, ffolkes; these guys set the standards for a LOT of today’s rock & roll, as well as pop music, to mention only one venue they influenced during their time in the limelight….

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Today’s rants come from the archives… On the date shown, I found two short discussions, on two of our favored subjects, to wit; religion and politics… Go figure…. I have cleaned up the formatting, but, changed none of the text; anything weird will just have to fly solo….

From 2/8/2012:

“If God had meant for us to take life seriously, He wouldn’t have given us a sense of humor.” — Theologist Bee

I would say this is true, as far as it goes. I would feel compelled to add that to listen to some of the folks who consider themselves tight with God, would be to believe they don’t figure He has one; at least they won’t cop to it. They live and act as if they never did anything bozoid, or made a mistake, or for goodness sake, looked at a platypus. If that creature isn’t proof that God has a sense of humor, I couldn’t say what is.

Since I don’t honestly believe in the tenets put forth by any of the organized religions I’ve studied (damn near all of them now), I would have to say that our sense of humor is a survival characteristic, a buffer for our minds, to protect it from all the crap and nonsense that floats free in the universe, especially in what we see and hear from our cohabitants on this little mudball we call home. Such a device is essential to retaining one’s sanity in the face of the kind of complicated, emotionally charged, irrational, and illogical BS we constantly have to deal with when trying to deal with the great unwashed masses.

It certainly has aided me in my campaign to bring some light to the dark-headed among us (I refer here to the old saw: the lights are on, but nobody’s home), both by acting as a favored method of teaching for me, and a favored method of learning for them. So, for me, it is a two-edged sword, giving me both protection from the assaults on my mind from the ignorant, and allowing me to share some helpful information in people who can’t learn any other way.

And in the final analysis, it’s always good to remember that humor is best applied in looking at ourselves. I can’t tell you how often I break out in sheer delight over something stupid I’ve done, something I have told myself time and again to not do, but that I end up doing anyway. Just goes to show that even us smart guys are not immune to bozoid tendencies…..thank God…..

 

 

“I have a feeling that at any time about three million Americans can be had for any militant reaction against law, decency, the Constitution, the Supreme Court, compassion and the rule of reason.” — John Kenneth Galbraith

Mr. Galbraith makes a valid point here, but I think his estimate is low, considering there are over 310 million of us now. I’d wager it’s closer to 30 million, of which 95% would be fundamentalist Christians and/or Mormons. The entrance qualifications for acceptance into one of those organizations are pretty low, and since the principal characteristic of all of them is sheer mental laziness (they refuse to think for themselves, instead of blindly accepting what their leaders tell them), their ranks have swollen in the last decade. If you need proof, look at the Tea Party, which I consider one of the more apt descriptions for that entity. I would, however, prefer to add some words to it, to wit: the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

For the sake of argument, let us look at just one subject, say evolution vs. creationism. As recently as November of last year, several of the Republican candidates for the nomination to run for President expressed their doubts about evolution, trying no doubt to appeal to that 30 or more million folks who believe in creationism. Below, you will find just one argument on the subject; there are literally millions more scientists who would say the same…..

“Evolution is as much a fact as the earth turning on its axis and going around the sun.  At one time this was called the Copernican theory; but, when evidence for a theory becomes so overwhelming that no informed person can doubt it, it is customary for scientists to call it a fact.  That all present life descended from earlier forms, over vast stretches of geologic time, is as firmly established as Copernican cosmology.  Biologists differ only with respect to theories about how the process operates.”– Martin Gardner, “Irving Kristol & the Facts of Life”– The Skeptical Inquirer, Vol. XII No. 2, ppg. 128-131

In reality, I am aware that I’m preaching to the choir here; most of the folks I know don’t much hold with nonsense. But, a lot of other folks may eventually read this, and if I can offend them enough, maybe I can get them to think for a moment or two, much as it pains them to do so……if not, well, it’s fun for me, and leaves them feeling confused, so that’s all good…..

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This is one of the first poems I wrote after a 35 year hiatus from writing any at all…. I still like it, & I hope you do as well….

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    Today’s final section contains a rather classical style old-school pearl. The process for including the following was, for the most part, unconscious, which is why I couldn’t say what the message may be, at this time. It may come to me, as it usually does, by letting the ideas into my head, & letting them play together for a while; the message always settles out as a precipitate…. Trust me on this, it works…. Go ahead, try it…. I dare you….

 

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It’s done; that is, unfortunately, the best I can say of it, for, it went by so fast, and without much input from me, it rather created itself, by process rather than any sort of creative process in me. So be it; it is, all that notwithstanding, done. I’ll try again tomorrow to get this right. Until then, y’all be strange, it’s cool out there…. or, wait. Oh, never mind…. See y’all tomorrow; it isn’t meant as a threat, but, take it as you like….

 

À bientôt, mon cherí….